Who Gets Wind? Investigating Economic Attributes of Iowa Counties Prior to Wind Turbine Development
by Karianna Klassen Abstract Iowa is a national leader in wind energy, producing nearly two-thirds of its electricity from wind turbines. However, the development of wind energy infrastructure across the state has been uneven—some counties host hundreds of turbines while others have none. This paper investigates whether county-level economic conditions influence the likelihood of wind […]
Short and Long-Term Impacts of a Large-Scale Natural Disaster on Individual Labor Outcomes: Evidence from the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami
by Tony Sun Abstract Natural disasters are often highly disruptive to the livelihoods of impacted populations. This paper investigates the effects of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami on male wages and labor supply from its immediate aftermath into the long run. Using fixed effects models that account for individual-specific heterogeneity, I find evidence of significant […]
A perfect storm: The effect of natural disasters on child health
by Cheyenne Danielle Quijano Abstract Typhoons and their accompanying flooding have destructive effects, including an increase in the risk of waterborne disease in children. Using a spatial regression discontinuity design, I explore the immediate to short-term effects of flooding as a result of Typhoon Labuyo on the incidence of diarrhea and acute respiratory infection in […]
Labor Market Effects of the Minimum Wage in South Korea
by Alec Ashforth Abstract This paper analyzes survey data from businesses regarding individual worker earnings, hours, and characteristics from 1971 to 1998 in order to estimate the labor market effects of the minimum wage in South Korea. Since the minimum wage was only implemented in manufacturing, construction, and mining industries, we are able to compare […]
Where Did the Money Go? Impact of the ECB’s Corporate Sector Purchase Program on Eurozone Corporate Spending
By Tina Tian Slow corporate growth and a lack of corporate investment has plagued European markets for the past decade. As a response, the ECB began the Corporate Sector Purchase Program (CSPP) in 2016 to provide liquidity to corporate debt markets through bond purchases. Four years after the start of the program, this paper […]
Social Capital and Financial Development after Economic Shocks: Evidence from Italy after the Financial Crisis of 2007-2009
By Sujay Rao & Ethan Lampert Like traditional forms of capital, social capital – an intangible measure of an individual’s social networks, trust in institutions, and participation in civic life – has implications for personal and financial behavior. Individuals from educated, well established backgrounds with fruitful family ties may be more amenable to opening new […]
The Impact of Microfinance on Women’s Empowerment: Evidence from Rural Areas of Uganda
By Sonia Maria Hernandez Microfinance is the practice of extending small collateral-free loans to underserved populations in developing areas with no access to credit. The Village Savings and Loan Association (VSLA) randomized access to microfinance treatment for women in rural areas of Uganda and tracked outcomes through surveys. This research determines the impact of microfinance […]
Evaluating Economic Impacts of Electrification in Zambia
By Aashna Aggarwal Energy poverty is prevalent in Zambia. It is one of the world’s least electrified nations with 69% of its citizens living in darkness, without access to grid electricity. Zambian government has a goal to achieve universal electricity access in urban areas and increase rural electrification to 51% by 2030. With its main […]
Sister competition and birth order effects among marriage-aged girls: Evidence from a field experiment in rural Bangladesh
By Stephanie Zhong Early marriage before the age of 18 is prevalent among adolescent girls in Bangladesh, but the timing of marriage is not uniform across daughters within a household, with some sisters marrying earlier than others. Using survey data from a novel field experiment from rural Bangladesh, I find that girls ages 10-21 with […]
Endogeneity in the Decision to Migrate: Changes in the Self-Selection of Puerto Rican Migrants before, during, and after the Great Recession
By Aasha Reddy Migrants self-select on characteristics such as income. We use the U.S. Census’ ACS and PRCS to study changes in selection patterns of Puerto Rican migrants to the to the U.S. mainland (50 states) before, during, and after the Great Recession (2005 to 2016). We construct counterfactual income densities to compare incomes of […]
